Dear All Saints and St MarysIf you only heard one word from the mouth of Jesus, what might that be? ‘Love’. ‘God’. No, I suggest that the key word Jesus speaks to us today (as he did 2000 years ago to the first disciples) is ‘now’!When should I do good? Now! How often should I forgive my brother? Actually, the number does not matter. What matters is: now! If you pass the person who has been beaten up in the street (while the priest and the Levite pass by on the other side), when is the best time to help? Now!St Paul captures this in a wonderful verse on 2 Corinthians. First God says to us: “at an acceptable time, I have listened to you; on the day of salvation, I have helped you”. In other words, God hears us NOW – as soon as we pray. God does not delay – God’s help may not be what we expected, nor what we thought we want; but there is no delay.Martin Luther was asked: what would he do if the world were to end tomorrow? He answered, “I would plant an apple tree today.” Now! There is a Greek proverb which says: a society grows great when old people plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit. There is value in doing something today – even if the benefits will not be manifest till many years later.So, perhaps it is not surprising that the key moment in this week’s Gospel reading is when Jesus says “now”! “I am now. God’s promises are now – in me, by me, with me.” And that ‘now’ continues up to today. God’s actions are not merely found in the past. God acts today – in us, by us, with us.This Sunday 26th January the service at church are as follows8am - Holy Communion - All Saints10am - Sung Holy Communion - St Marys10.30am - Cafe Church - All SaintsCafe Church is a open and informal space which begins with coffee/tea and breakfast that enables worship with space for discussion and reflection with others. We are currently looking at the Book of Romans together and is good way to get to know people and learn together about the Christian faith)The week aheadMonday 27th 10.30am Tiny Tots - All Saints Community HallTuesday 28th. 10.30am Music for Toddlers - St MarysWednesday 29th. 9:00am Celtic Morning Prayer - All SaintsThursday 30th 10:00am Holy Communion - St. Mary’sSaturday 1st Feb 10:00am Coffee Morning, Book Sale plus the Bristol Repair Café - All Saints12noon - 2pm Saturday Lunches - St Mary’s3pm - 6pm Open Tango - All Saints Community HallSunday 2nd 10:00am Creative Church - St Marys10:30am Holy Communion and Junior Church - All Saints6:30pm Candlemas Choral Evensong - St. Mary’sRevd Bob Cotton
Dear Friends in Christ,This time of year, is all about change. The old year is out, the new has come. Some of us will be glad to be in a new year, others will be sad. Nostalgia for recent events may be tangible, as may be a sense of relief that a difficult year is over.Alongside this are the January blues. After the anticipation of Christmas with all the glitter that seems to accompany it, we now get to January, with typically the real bout of cold weather, very unwell bank accounts, and a sense of losing that sparkle as all things Christmas are packed away again. And there’s the feeling of a long wait until the next moment of joy, the advent of spring, holidays, longer days. But what’s the reality for us? We’re not immune from any of the above, but we know that the rejoicing simply begins at Christmas. The removal of the sparkly allure of the season doesn’t remove the actual joy of the love and freedom of God made incarnate through Jesus. That’s the bedrock for us, even when the world around us is at its greyest, and there’s much to be anxious about in this new year-but Gods love is infinite, vast and always with us, no matter what the externals may indicate .AmenSunday 12th January: Baptism of ChristReadings: Isaiah 43: 1 - 7; Acts 8: 14 - 17; Luke 3: 15 - 17, 21 - 22.8.00am Holy Communion All Saints10.00am Holy Communion St. Marys10.30am Messy Muddy Church All SaintsMay the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. AmenBlessingsFr Kester de Oliveira
Mary leads us into ChristmasDear All Saints and St MarysThis week we celebrate the last Sunday of Advent and that leads us into the full wonder of Christmas. The readings take on the focus of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and her magnificent song which declares the reshaping of God's world, and how we are all invited to be drawn closer to the crib of creation. God's story unfolds in the most unassuming and unexpected people. As Rachel Mann , theologian, remarks"God calls the unlikely, and Mary joins a long line of those who will take their place in God’s wondrous work of transformation."A peasant girl who gives birth to a peasant king. Gods call is universal, one for all people. It is the message of hope that kindles its place in the soul of humanity. It is the great triumph of truth, love and hope and one that the world craves to hear and that we wonder at as we sit with candles, sing with carols and relearn again how God intends the world to be.It is the way of community, it is the message of the church, it is our hope. So come and celebrate with us in the multiple different services to listen again to the word made flesh, a song of humanity. A song of joy.Worship this weekSunday 22nd December8am - BCP Holy Communion - All Saints10am - Sung Holy Communion - St Marys10.30 - Holy Communion with Hymns - All Saints6.30pm - Carols by Candlelight - St MarysChristmas Eve - 24th December4pm- Family Carols and Christingle - St Marys7.30pm - Carols by Candlelight - All Saints11.30pm - Midnight Mass - St MarysChristmas Day - 25th December10am - All Age Family Communion - St Marys10.30 - All Age Family Communion - All SaintsSunday 29th DecemberBenefice service of Holy Communion - All SaintsBlessings this Christmas.Revd Lizzie
Rejoice in the Lord alwaysDear All Saints and St Mary'sHappy Gaudete! What a great word to say and reflect on. It is a word that has been set to many a tune, but the one that always springs to my mind is the Steeleye Span 80's version - a gift of an earworm for your weekend!Here in the middle of Advent the season makes a slight change of step. This Sunday coming has been known as Gaudete Sunday - a word that means "Rejoice". The pink candle on the advent ring is lit. It marks a moment when our eyes can see in the faint distance the manger that we are asked to move towards in order to wonder at the gift of Jesus that God brings us all at Christmas."Rejoice" is the word that springs from one of the readings that we are given this Sunday - St Paul in his letter to the Philippians says this"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."It is an encouragement that despite the darkness that enfolds us that in everything by prayer we can bring our needs to God, and to be assured that the Lord is near and to be gentle with each other. Amongst the fever of Christmas preparations, I want to continue to cling to Advent, to stay in that place a little while longer in this season. Yet the call is to keep going, step by step, till we finally arrive prayerfully able to give over all that we need to God who comes to love the world. We have the joy of being able to welcome the Bishop of Bristol, Bishop Viv, to celebrate holy communion and preach at 10am at St Marys. Our rejoicing continues at All Saints in the afternoon at 4.30pm with our children sharing with us the Nativity. Both services full of the glimpses of hope, love and rejoicing that we are called to be part of. Bring yourselves, your families, your neighbours and friends to rejoice and join in the joy.Worship Sunday 15th December8am Holy Communion – All Saints10am Sung Holy Communion with Bishop Viv– St. Mary’s4.30pm Nativity Service – All SaintsThe week aheadMon 16th 10.30am Tiny Tots Christmas Party - All Saints7.30pm Advent GroupWeds 18th 9:00am Celtic Morning Prayer - All Saints12 noon Funeral of David Godfrey - St. Marys6.00pm. Fishponds School Carol ServiceThursday 19th 10:00am Holy Communion - St. Mary’s11am - Advent GroupSaturday 21st 12.00noon - 2:00pm Saturday Lunches - St Mary’s 1.00pm - 6.00pm D&D fundraiser “Yuletide Ball” -All SaintsSunday 22nd 8.00am - Holy Communion BCP - All Saints10:00am Sung Holy Communion - St Marys10.30am Holy Communion - All Saints 18.30 - Carols by Candlelight - St Marys In gentle prayerRevd Lizzie